And with all of the additional buzz and media attention on ECU, he's also working hard to keep his team focused. In his words: "We just have to make sure that we don't let the circus atmosphere around a winning program interrupt what we're trying to build right now in between the lines."

"Four years ago, when I wrote (goals) up on the board, even I said to myself, 'All right, we ain't achieving that one, that one or that one. Maybe we can get this one,'" Holtz said. "I think there have been little bits and pieces that have helped us get over the hump."

The Pirates had gone 4-8, 1-10, and 2-9 in the three seasons prior to Coach Holtz arriving on the East Carolina campus. But he took the job, following the advice of his father, Lou Holtz, who told him:

"Good jobs don't open up. You take a bad job and make it a good job."

It didn't take him long to see what he was up against. The team lacked a clear vision and had gotten used to losing. Said Coach Holtz:

"I came away from our first meeting with the feeling that this was a very selfish, self-centered team. There weren't a lot of people talking about goals and the big picture. We needed to change the culture and the attitude and change it fast.

We took a project every year. We started with practice facilities, meeting rooms and weight rooms because that's where the players are going to get strong enough to compete, get smart enough to compete and get fundamental enough to compete.

First you have to learn how to compete, then you have to learn how to win and then you have to learn how to handle winning."